N.Y. General Municipal Law § 51: Prosecution of officers for illegal acts

§ 51. Prosecution of officers for illegal acts. All officers, agents,

commissioners and other persons acting, or who have acted, for and on

behalf of any county, town, village or municipal corporation in this

state, and each and every one of them, may be prosecuted, and an action

may be maintained against them to prevent any illegal official act on

the part of any such officers, agents, commissioners or other persons,

or to prevent waste or injury to, or to restore and make good, any

property, funds or estate of such county, town, village or municipal

corporation by any person or corporation whose assessment, or by any

number of persons or corporations, jointly, the sum of whose assessments

shall amount to one thousand dollars, and who shall be liable to pay

taxes on such assessment in the county, town, village or municipal

corporation or by any person who owns shares in a cooperative housing

corporation where the pro rata share of the assessment attributable to

such shares shall amount to one thousand dollars (or by any number of

such persons, jointly, the sum of whose pro rata shares shall amount to

one thousand dollars) and where the cooperative housing corporation

shall be liable to pay taxes on such assessment in the county, town,

village or municipal corporation to prevent the waste or injury of whose

property the action is brought, or who have been assessed or paid taxes

therein upon any assessment of the above-named amount within one year

previous to the commencement of any such action, or who has been so

assessed but has not paid nor shall be liable to pay any or the full

amount of taxes on such assessment because of a veteran's exemption

therefrom pursuant to section four hundred fifty-eight of the real

property tax law, or who has been so assessed but has not paid nor shall

be liable to pay any or the full amount of taxes on such assessment

because of an exemption therefrom granted to persons sixty-five years of

age or over or their spouses pursuant to the real property tax law. Such

person or corporation upon the commencement of such action, shall

furnish a bond to the defendant therein, to be approved by a justice of

the supreme court or the county judge of the county in which the action

is brought, in such penalty as the justice or judge approving the same

shall direct, but not less than two hundred and fifty dollars, and to be

executed by any two of the plaintiffs, if there be more than one party

plaintiff, providing said two parties plaintiff shall severally justify

in the sum of five thousand dollars. Said bond shall be approved by

said justice or judge and be conditioned to pay all costs that may be

awarded the defendant in such action if the court shall finally

determine the same in favor of the defendant. The court shall require,

when the plaintiffs shall not justify as above mentioned, and in any

case may require two more sufficient sureties to execute the bond above

provided for. Such bond shall be filed in the office of the county clerk

of the county in which the action is brought, and a copy shall be served

with the summons in such action. If an injunction is obtained as herein

provided for, the same bond may also provide for the payment of the

damages arising therefrom to the party entitled to the money, the

auditing, allowing or paying of which was enjoined, if the court shall

finally determine that the plaintiff is not entitled to such injunction.

In case the waste or injury complained of consists in any board, officer

or agent in any county, town, village or municipal corporation, by

collusion or otherwise, contracting, auditing, allowing or paying, or

conniving at the contracting, audit, allowance or payment of any

fraudulent, illegal, unjust or inequitable claims, demands or expenses,

or any item or part thereof against or by such county, town, village or

municipal corporation, or by permitting a judgment to be recovered

against such county, town, village or municipal corporation, or against

himself in his official capacity, either by default or without the

interposition and proper presentation of any existing legal or equitable

defenses, or by any such officer or agent, retaining or failing to pay

over to the proper authorities any funds or property of any county,

town, village or municipal corporation, after he shall have ceased to be

such officer or agent, the court may, in its discretion, prohibit the

payment or collection of any such claims, demands, expenses or

judgments, in whole or in part, and shall enforce the restitution and

recovery thereof, if heretofore or hereafter paid, collected or retained

by the person or party heretofore or hereafter receiving or retaining

the same, and also may, in its discretion, adjudge and declare the

colluding or defaulting official personally responsible therefor, and

out of his property, and that of his bondsmen, if any, provide for the

collection or repayment thereof, so as to indemnify and save harmless

the said county, town, village or municipal corporation from a part or

the whole thereof; and in case of a judgment the court may in its

discretion, vacate, set aside and open said judgment, with leave and

direction for the defendant therein to interpose and enforce any

existing legal or equitable defense therein, under the direction of such

person as the court may, in its judgment or order, designate and

appoint. All books of minutes, entry or account, and the books, bills,

vouchers, checks, contracts or other papers connected with or used or

filed in the office of, or with any officer, board or commission acting

for or on behalf of any county, town, village or municipal corporation

in this state or any body corporate or other unit of local government in

this state which possesses the power to levy taxes or benefit

assessments upon real estate or to require the levy of such taxes or

assessments or for which taxes or benefit assessments upon real estate

may be required pursuant to law to be levied, including the Albany port

district commission, are hereby declared to be public records, and shall

be open during all regular business hours, subject to reasonable

regulations to be adopted by the applicable local legislative body, to

the inspection of any taxpayer or registered voter, who may copy,

photograph or make photocopies thereof on the premises where such

records are regularly kept. This section shall not be so construed as to

take away any right of action from any county, town, village or

municipal corporation, or from any public officer, but any right of

action now existing, or which may hereafter exist in favor of any

county, town, village or municipal corporation, or in favor of any

officer thereof, may be enforced by action or otherwise by the persons

hereinbefore authorized to prosecute and maintain actions; and whenever

by the provisions of this section an action may be prosecuted or

maintained against any officer or other person, his bondsmen, if any,

may be joined in such action or proceeding and their liabilities as such

enforced by the proper judgment or direction of the court; but any

recovery under the provisions of this article shall be for the benefit

of and shall be paid to the officer entitled by law to hold and disburse

the public moneys of such county, town, village or municipal

corporation, and shall, to the amount thereof, be credited the defendant

in determining his liability in the action by the county, town, village

or municipal corporation or public officer. The provisions of this

article shall apply as well to those cases in which the body, board,

officer, agent, commissioner or other person above named has not, as to

those in which it or he has jurisdiction over the subject-matter of its

action.